Gold Fleet Decided, Real Racing Begins Now
Day two at the Semaine Olympique Française in Hyères marked the end of the preliminary series, setting the stage for the split into gold and silver fleets in the 49er and Nacra 17. With the new format in play, all points from the opening days are now wiped, only overall ranking matters. That means heading into the elimination series, each team carries forward their position as points (1st = 1 point, 2nd = 2 points, etc.), making consistency across these first two days crucial.
In the Nacra 17 fleet, it was a statement return from Ruggero Tita and Caterina Banti. Competing in their first regatta since the Paris Olympics, the Italians came out swinging, so much so that after the second race of the day, they realized they had effectively secured the top qualifying spot. Confident they would still be at the top in the next stage, they made the bold call to skip the final race, heading ashore early to rest and reset ahead of a “spicy” forecast for tomorrow. Behind them, Olympic silver medalists Matteo Majdalani and Eugenia Bosco secured second overall, with the British team of John Gimson and Anna Burnet completing the top three.
In both the 49erFX and 49er fleets, the leaderboard carries added weight beyond Hyères itself, particularly for the Chinese teams. This event, combined with Palma, serves as a key internal qualifier for China’s selection to the upcoming Asian Games, an event of huge prestige across many Asian sailing nations, sometimes even rivaling the Olympics. In the FX fleet, where three Chinese teams are competing, the pressure is especially high. Yingqian Wang and Xiaoya Su currently lead the standings, putting themselves in the strongest position so far, ahead of Italy’s Sofia Giunchiglia and Giulia Schio in second. Australia’s Laura Harding and Annie Wilmot sit in third after an impressive day on the water, posting consistent scores of 4, 1, 3. There are also some exciting new faces making an early impact — Boróka Fehér and Szonja Fehér, fresh out of the 29er class, are already breaking into the top 10 and holding their own against some of the most experienced teams in the fleet. With margins already tight, the pressure is on, not just for podium positions, but for the Chinese crews fighting for that single, highly coveted ticket to represent their country in Japan.
The 49er fleet, with 45 teams, reflects that same intensity, and nowhere more so than within the Chinese squad. Xin Wang and Tianyu Qi, who finished third in Palma, remain firmly in contention, while their teammates Zaiding Wen and Tian Liu, the Paris 2024 Olympians, are also well placed in eighth overall, keeping the internal battle wide open. At the top of the fleet, the Americans Andrew Mollerus and Trevor Bornarth lead, just ahead of Ireland’s Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove, who look to have found their form again after a few inconsistent regattas since Paris. New Zealand’s Sam Bacon and Blake McGlashan sit third heading into the gold fleet. Two victories in the first two races in yellow fleet saw Italy’s Lorenzo Pezzilli & Circolo Velico Ravennate Tobia Torroni jump into contention in a compressed leaderboard. Further down, the fight for the final gold fleet spot went right to the wire, with Otto Henry and Shaun Connor sneaking into 20th place and the last gold fleet spot by a single point ahead of New Zealand’s Francesco Kayrouz and Hamish McLaren. With the reset now in effect, the next three days of elimination racing will decide who makes the top 10 and the medal series, and with stronger breeze forecast, the stakes are only getting higher.
